Dowry is any property or valuable security given or agreed to be given by one party to another in a marriage. The demand should have been made to the bride’s family by the groom or his family directly are indirectly before or after marriage. The amount depends on a large number of factors, including region, religion, caste and subcaste. Even the groom’s education, the bride’s skin tone, and the negotiation skills of both the families are involved. To avoid larger dowries, families in rural India often marry their daughters off as children. To keep dowry prices low, families also keep girls from going to school. It is believed that dowry prices increase with each additional year of formal education. People in rural India generally believe that girls should not be more educated. Dowry does not include Streedhaan, which is the property of the bride family gives her for her security. According to the National Crime Records Bureau of India, in a country with nearly 10 million weddings a year, less than 10,000 cases of dowry were reported in 2015. More than 8,000 women die as a result of India’s dowry system each year. There are either murdered, abused or commit suicide due to familial pressure.
“Dowry Prohibition Act, Indian law, enacted on May 1, 1961, intended to prevent the giving or receiving of a dowry. Under the Dowry Prohibition Act, dowry includes property, goods, or money given by either party to the marriage, by the parents of either party or by anyone else in connection with the marriage.”
We can eradicate the system of dowry by educating women and their families to stand against dowry. Education and awareness should be provided to the men and their families as well so that they realise that it is not ok to put the family under pressure for some amount of money.